WEBVTT
AS THE GRUESOME SEARCH FOR
BODIES CONTINUED IN OAKLAND, A
QUICK RESPONSE FROM SACRAMENTO.
>> WE WILL B DOING
THIS
ABSOLUTELY.
I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH ABOUT WHAT
MORE WE CAN DO.
MIKE
HE
HAS A STATEWIDE CRISIS
WHEN IT COMES AFFORDABLE
HOUSING.
>> WHEN YOU HAVE TENANTS WHO ARE
FORCED TO LIVE IN A DEATHTRAP,
WHO MAY HAVE LAST -- LOST THEIR
LIVES BECAUSE OF AFFORDABLE
HOUSING AND BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT
BUILT IN OF HOUSING SO THAT
EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO LIVE IN
CALIFORNIA CAN LIVE IN OUR
CITIES.
MIKE: GOVERNOR
BROWN SAID CODE
PROVISIONS ARE IMPORTANT
FUNCTIONS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
HE ATE KNOWLEDGES THAT EVERYONE
WANTS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF A
HAPPENED IN OAKLAND.
HE SAYS THE ASSUMPTION OF THE
LACK OF HOUSING IS TO BLAME FOR
THE OPEN FIRE IS A LEAP YEARS
NOT WILLING TO MAKE.
>> IT IS A TRAGIC THING, BUT
I
WILL NOT TRAP -- TRY TO DRAW
SOME LARGER CONCLUSION ABOUT THE
WAREHOUSES, OR HOUSES, OR
AFFORDABILITY.
I DON'T THINK THE SITUATION
LIMITS ITSELF.
MIKE
INVESTIGATORS ARE STILL
DIGGING FOR ANSWERS AS TO WHAT
CAUSED THE FIRE.
WITH A FOCUS ON WHY SO MANY
YOUNG PEOPLE WERE LIVING IN A
BUILDING THAT LICENSE FOR
RESIDENTIAL USE.
>> THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT
BEEN DOING THE OVERSIGHT, AND
ENSURING THAT EVERY BUILDING IN
CALIFORNIA IS SAFE, CLEARLY, IT
IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW WE

In direct response to the deadly Oakland warehouse fire that has killed 36 people so far, there’s a call for the state to take more aggressive action, with the hope of preventing future tragedies.

“We will be doing state hearings absolutely,” Assm. David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said.

Advertisement

Chiu, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development , said, “I've already been in touch with officials from Oakland about what more we can do.”

FAST FACTS:

Assemblyman says tenants lived in deathtrap

Blames lack of affordable housing

Brown calls warehouse fire a "terrible tragedy"

Chiu said the fatal fire in Oakland demonstrates a statewide crisis when it comes to the lack of affordable housing.

“When you have tenants who are forced to live in a deathtrap, who may have lost their lives because of the lack of investment our state had made in affordable housing -- because of the fact that we just haven't built enough housing so that everyone who wants to live in California can live in our cities,” Chiu said.

Gov. Jerry Brown said on Monday that code provisions and permitting are important functions of local government.

“Obviously, it's a very bad and tragic thing,” Brown said. “But, I'm not going to draw some larger conclusion about whether it be warehouses or housing or affordability. I don't think the situation lends itself to that kind of conclusion.”

While he wants to get to the bottom of what happened in Oakland, Brown said the assumption that the lack of housing is to blame for the Oakland fire is a leap he’s not willing to make.

"This was a group activity that happens in various parts of the state and, tragically, the building was not prepared," Brown said. "There are a number of places in the state that are not licensed where different people live. But, I don't think you can jump from this to the larger question of housing prices."

Investigators are still digging for answers as to what caused the fatal fire in Oakland, with a focus on why so many young people were living in a building not licensed for residential use.

“The fact we haven't been doing the oversight and ensuring that every building in California is safe, clearly, is another example of how we need to do more to make sure that people are not only housed -- but they don't die in unsafe housing,” Chiu said.

Chiu added that he expects to launch an aggressive package of bills addressing the housing crisis in the weeks ahead.

No firm date has been set for the state hearings, which could take place in January at the earliest.